EVENT - You have been granted a favor by a close friend.  Look at the top 6 cards in your opponent's Endurance.  Put them back in any order.
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"Do you remember when you found me, old man?"

Xavier chuckled, taking a sip of wine from the crystal goblet.  He set it down on the rock that he was sitting upon, and addressed the air.

"It was in 1192.  Just after my first death.  I was confused, hunted, abandoned."

"I was a lowly street thief, forced to join Saladin's army.  There were plenty of angry merchants who wanted me dead, and I needed the position to provide me protection.  Overnight, I went from thief to soldier."

"And then we fought the Crusaders.  Inexperienced, an ill- made sword in hand.  I didn't have a chance.  One of your men ran me through the heart."

Xavier drew his coat closer about him.  The night air was chill.  Normally he wouldn't venture out in such weather.  However, it was the anniversary of his last face-to-face encounter with his mentor.  Some responsibilities could not be ignored.

"You sensed the power of the Quickening as it rewove my body.  The soldier who killed me was himself killed, and no one else witnessed my death.  Given the choice of either returning to my people, ill-advised for my new 'life' and wanted for thievery, or travelling with you, I choose to accept your offer."

"You and your liege never did take Jerusalem.  Instead we returned to your homeland, where I played the role of a servant while learning swordplay.  You taught me about the Game, and the Gathering to come.  For over a century I studied with you."

"And then we came here, to Portugal, to meet with a fine Lord on some business.  He offered me money to betray you, thinking me a poor whipped servant who despised his master."

Xavier reached down and took the goblet in his hook prosthetic.  In the two months since he had obtained it, he had become quite proficient in its use.  He had learned long ago that an Immortal slow to adapt lost his head quickly.

He held the bottle up to the moonlight that shone through the holes in the castle wall.  Almost half empty.

St. Cloud poured himself a small amount and set the bottle down.  He quickly drained off the wine.  Putting down the goblet, he carefully corked the bottle, then tied a cord around its neck.

Picking it up, Xavier stepped over to a hole in an old stone grate.  He lowered the bottle carefully past the stone edges and down into the darkness.

As he lowered the bottle, he continued.  "I wasn't, of course.  A poor whipped servant, that is.  Nor did I hate you."

"You could have taken my head on the field of battle.  But that would have been premature.  Let me grow in strength, so that you could take my Quickening when it was powerful.  That was your plan."

"Did I hate you?  No.  I would have done the same in your position.  I merely took the advantage offered me and disposed of you first."

"Even so, I owed you a debt.  You had taken me in, and so your head was safe.  Santiago was content to imprison you.  I led your own soldiers back here months later to destroy him and his castle.  You should have seen the look on his face when I gutted him."

"Then we burned the castle, smashed the walls.  I took your name and your property, and I've owned this land down through the centuries, under one name or another.  No one comes here.  It's just you and me."

The Moroccan had reached the end of the cord.  He gave several gentle tugs, then began to pull it up.

"Well, the night is almost over, and I mustn't be seen here.  Someone might notice, and suspect.  We wouldn't want that."

Xavier had pulled the rope up entirely.  The loop at the end was empty.

Had Henri St. Cloud heard him?  In his seven previous visits to the ruins, Xavier had never received any kind of response.  Perhaps the old man was currently "dead" from starvation and waiting to resurrect.  Perhaps he had somehow managed to sever his own head on a sharp rock.  Perhaps he simply didn't feel like speaking with his protégé.

It didn't matter.  Xavier St. Cloud was a man of habits.

"Enjoy the wine, Henri," Xavier called down.  As he turned to leave the ruins, he added, "I'll be back in another hundred years.  Or when I am the next-to-last, and must take your head.  Until we meet again..."

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Segur is a card that people occasionally notice, and often overlook the potential of.  Generally, people tend to see it, say, "Gee, I can mess up my opponent," and add it to their decks.

Segur can delay your opponent's draw of a particular card.  If you plan a specific attack, you can move the defense your opponent requires down.  If you want them to attack, you can move an Attack card up.  If you're getting ready to play a Street Punk on your next turn, you can move their Police/Counter Damage card down.

However, Segur also has some specific uses that should be examined.

Segur affects six cards.  That is important.  How many cards is a player typically required to burn when Exerting?  Five.  So you see your opponent's next six cards, rearrange them, and determine which five your opponent will discard for their Exertion.

Of course, this means you have to force your opponent to Exert.  The best way is to Power Blow.  Drawbacks are that you may have to Exert to do so, and your attack can be avoided by Continuity (for some Personas), Stamina (yeah, right :) ), Ancestral Blade (now restricted to one), Master Swordsman, either Holy Ground, or dodges.

Cards like Avery Hoskins, Taunt (Kurgan's or Katana's) and Challenge/ME can also let you force your opponent to Exert.

Don't forget to take into account the altered Exertion if your opponent has Master/Swordmaster, Tessa, Collect, or Heather.  If you've got a few Zocchi Distributings down, you can have some some fun there as well.

There's almost always some important card you would rather an opponent lose.  Whether it be a particular defense, a counter card, or a damage card, you can guarantee he loses it if he Exerts.

If your opponent likes making Exertions (to perform Power Blows and Battle Rages), Segur becomes much more useful.  Even if you can't position a particular card for your opponent to lose, they don't know that and may hesitate.

One note:  Fortune Teller (see Xavier Chronicles #5) will let your opponent counter your Segur arrangement on his turn.

Segur works well with Avery Hoskins, another rare card.  Hoskins guarantees that your opponent will make lots of Exertions.  Not only will he lose a large number of cards, but you can use Segur to gain some control over the ones he is losing.

Overall, Segur has a number of uses.  It can range from a mere delaying tactic to a key part of any strategy that relies on forcing your opponent to Exert.

(This story is another in the continuing saga of Xavier St. Cloud's activities between the events of "For Tomorrow We Die" and "Unholy Alliance Pt. 1".  It most likely is or will be contradicted by future information on the Watcher's Chronicle CDs or in the series.  Oh well.)